Conventional rear wheel assemblies of a vehicle include rear suspension components and hub and brake assemblies. Furthermore, knuckles attach the hub and brake assemblies to the vehicle and to a cross member. The cross member is typically mounted with the floor of the vehicle.
The floor of the vehicle is typically configured with a rear floor side member that is coupled to a rear floor cross member. A reinforcement piece is coupled inside the rear floor side member and to the floor of the vehicle. A second reinforcement is coupled to the reinforcement piece. Nuts, welded to square brackets are used to hold the components together and the square brackets are then welded to the second reinforcing member. Furthermore, a third reinforcement is welded on top of the welded nuts. The rear floor cross member is also welded to a fourth and a fifth reinforcement for additional strength. Finally, bolts are inserted through the cross member and coupled with the nuts, thereby attaching the floor panel to the upper surface of the cross member.
A drawback in the conventional structure is that there is such a plurality of components that the cost of manufacture is increased, excessive manufacture time is lost, excessive resources are expanded and the weight of the vehicle is increased.
Another drawback is that the bolts, for coupling the cross member and the rear floor side member are mounted to relatively short welded nuts. The short nuts result in the shank of the bolts not being stably held. This enables the vibration from the engine and road to propagate into the driver's compartment.